Luther's theology of piety, 1513--1521: A struggle with God, the Devil, and the conscience

A theology of piety describes why and how God is to be worshipped. This paper examines Luther's theology of piety from his early lectures in Wittenberg (1513) through his break with Rome (1521). Luther's piety is rooted in the notion that the reason for human existence is to glorify God; and that God is glorified when human beings acknowledge that they are fundamentally depraved and wholly without merit. It will be shown, however, that Luther's understanding of how this is accomplished is unclear---that his "formula" for piety is fragmented, even contradictory, due to the paradoxical nature of Luther's God, the ambiguity concerning the extent of the Devil's autonomy, and Luther's concern to uphold the majesty of God and yet call people to account.;Luther's evangelical "discovery" of a merciful God comprised only one aspect of his God-image. Alongside, or over against, this merciful God stood the hidden God, whose inscrutable will could harden a man's heart or abandon him to sin. Luther could not reconcile an inscrutable, just, and merciful God, and tended to tailor his view of God according to audience and circumstance. The prominence of the Devil in his theology further perplexed efforts to formulate a coherent view of piety, bringing up difficult questions of theodicy and predestination. Moreover, Luther's view that the natural reasoning of the conscience was responsible for an erroneous image of God as a God of works and a piety rooted in works-righteousness confused the issue of human accountability. Luther variously emphasizes God, the Devil, the Devil by permission of God, and human failing as responsible for the "idolatrous" piety of his day. Additional components of Luther's theology of piety include humility, obedience, and authority; and Luther's understanding of "reformation" as preparatory for the End Time.